Inspiration

Vincent Van Gogh was born March 30, 1853 and was named after his dead brother; which he ironically was born a year and a day after his namesakes death. He grew up with some issues about the situation; which along with a family history of mental issues, set him on his withdrawn and rather self-destructive path in life. After a slew of various jobs; including being a preacher, he struggled to find his place in the world and to get over his feelings of being a failure (his brother supported him most of his life). He turned to art in 1880 and was largely self-taught, but did take pointers in the beginning from some Dutch artists. He continued to advance his knowledge of art with the help of other artists that he met and eventually did enroll in some art schools later in his life.

In the beginning he focused on drawing people and landscapes, then during his Nuenen period he painted still lives (because the Catholic church told people to not let him paint them, because he was protestant). After his falling out with the church that he worked for, he went to Paris and got involved with several art movements: Impressionism, Divisionism, Japanese Woodcutting, and Pointillist technique. He gave up his Dutch influences for good at this time, preferring the older way of Delacroix's work (a painter that had mentored him). He ended up focusing on the Impressionist way of painting in the last years of his life. Vincent's death on July 29, 2010 is a mystery to me because I have always studied that his death was from pneumonia (this was even mentioned on a display plaque at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston during an Impressionist exhibit with an unfinished work saying that he died from the illness before he finished painting it). Recently I have read newly published books that say that he shot himself (or that his brother shot him) and that the Doctor in the town refused to save Vincent. I guess his death is up for debate….

I first learned of Van Gogh when I was in a middle school art class and I identified with his feeling like he didn't belong and his struggle to find his place in the world. I find that his experimentation of the different movements and techniques while staying true to his vision (even if others didn't appreciate his approach) inspiring. I have posted two photos of his paintings to show some of his work: the "Harvest in Provence" with it's simple looking brush strokes and vivid colors of the countryside and "The Café Terrace..." with its wonderful colors and 'feeling' of a nice night on the town. Van Gogh inspires me to not give up on my dreams of having a career that I love in the arts industry and to never stop learning and growing as an artist and as a person.